The City of Lights Film Festival in downtown Aurora opens Thursday, Sept. 18 with a screening of “Move Ya Body: The Birth of House,” a documentary tracing the inception of house music in 1980s Chicago.

Both Chester Gordon Algernal, producer of the film, and Chicago-based record producer Vince Lawrence, subject of the film, will attend the premiere.

The film festival will open with the screening at The Venue, 21 S. Broadway, in downtown Aurora, featuring house music before and after the screening of Elegance Bratton’s 2025 documentary—which explores the social and cultural significance of house music in Chicago and the communities that created it, according to a news release from the city.

This year’s festival will welcome directors from across the country whose films have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, Chicago Latino Film Festival, and—now—in Aurora.

In addition to six feature films—including the dramas “Ghostlight,” “Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake), the documentary ”Every Little Thing" and “Slice of Life: The American Dream. In Former Pizza Huts” and the Spanish-language comedy “23 Horas.“

The three-day festival will also show 13 short films from local and regional filmmakers.

On Saturday, Sept. 20, a free panel featuring teaching artists from the Paramount School of the Arts will take place at 11 a.m., while a young creatives mixer will follow the screening of student films and music videos later that afternoon. All event start times and locations can be found on the festival’s official ticket page.

Attendees of this year’s festival can expect even more facetime with filmmakers, including Bruno Irizarry, director of the Spanish-language feature, “23 Horas,” who will be in Aurora all weekend.

Irizarry will join writers and directors Sierra Falconer, Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson in Illinois’ second-largest city, who will speak to audiences during Q&A’s following their films’ respective screenings.

The weekend will culminate in a closing mixer and the presentation of the Excellence in Student Filmmaking Award.

Tickets, registration, and event information can be found at aurorafilmfest.com.